Lighthouses

Their solitary figures rise
in places that are significant for navigation and usually inaccessible: on
steep capes, at the entrance of the ports, on rocky islets. The lighthouses of
the archipelago fascinate the travelers. In fact, on some islands, where the
lighthouses are relatively easily accessible by land, many people visit them,
following the paths which the lighthouse keepers once walked on... At night the
lighthouses give hope and a sense of security to those who circumnavigate the
islands as they illuminate the impenetrable darkness.

The Greek network of
lighthouses is generally considered one of the largest, densest and more
organized in the world, because of the many island groups of our country. The
lighthouses at the passages of the Aegean were built mainly from the time of
the Greek War of Independence until 1935. The Greek lighthouses began to operate
with oil in 1830, they had lighthouse keepers and their light shone over 15 to
25 nautical miles. In World War II, most of the lighthouses of the Aegean were
destroyed by the Germans. Thus, out of 400 lighthouses only 28 were still operating
at the end of 1944. In the following years a restoration effort began and the
lighthouses became electrically powered. Today they fall under the jurisdiction
of the Lighthouse Service of the Navy.

The lighthouses of the
Dodecanese and of the East Aegean were built thanks to a French initiative (while
the Ionian ones were built through an English initiative). The height and size
of the land and of the marine lighthouses of the Aegean vary depending on the
position and the importance of the spot where they are located. They are all solid
structures, made of stone with a superb design and ergonomic autonomy. They had
rooms for the lighthouse keepers and the storage of supplies. On top of the lighthouse
tower there was the lantern room containing the lamp and the lens. Solar energy
systems were first applied in lighthouses in the '70s, while some of them had
already become automatic, thus making the lighthouse keepers redundant.

The most beautiful lighthouses

Mykonos: the lighthouse Armenistis is one of the few octagonal in Greece.

Santorini: the lighthouse at Akrotiri is considered one of the most beautiful in
the Cyclades. It was built by the French Lighthouse company.

Rhodes: the lighthouse at Prasonisi, on the south edge of the island with
its simplistic circular tower.

Syros: the lighthouse of Gaidaros on the islet Didymi is the tallest one
in Greece.

Kea: there are two lighthouses on the island: one
at cape Tamelos, built
on the steep rocks between Kea and Kythnos and one at Agios Nikolaos, in Vourkari.

Andros: the lighthouse of the Old Lady (on the way to the Achla beach), the famous Tourlitis, is worth visiting.
It is built on a rock in the sea at the exit of the port of the island’s
capital and of Fassa at
the northwest of the island.

Tinos: all three lighthouses of the island are
wonderful. The lighthouse on Dysvato
(the islet between Tinos and Andros), the lighthouse of Livada at the Papargyra cape and the
one at the port of Panormos, on the islet Planitis.

Serifos: the lighthouse is located at the Spathi cape, in the southern
part of the island.

Paros: the lighthouse Korakas, at the edge of the homonymous cape, is
close to Naoussa.

Polyaigos: the lighthouse of the small islet with the exotic turquoise waters between
Milos and Kimolos first operated in 1898.

Folegandros: the lighthouse of Aspropounta is located on the northwest side of
the island.

Furthermore it is worthy to visit:

- the lighthouse in Akradia (Akradies)
opposite Milos that is built
on an important position for the sailors as there are strong currents in this
maritime area. It first operated in 1892.

- the lighthouse of Kandelioussa
(Kandilousa) on the homonymous islet southwest of Nisyros, with a tower height of 10m and a very bright
white light.

- the lighthouse on the islet
of Stroggyli in Kastellorizo,
which was built in 1816-18 by the French Company of Ottoman lighthouses. It is a
circular and relatively short tower only 9m high.